Our Consumer Place - an excellent resource

Welcome to Our Consumer Place

"Our Consumer Place is a resource centre run entirely by people diagnosed with "mental illness" (we choose to call ourselves "consumers"). We provide information, training, support and advice to consumer-developed groups and projects. We also support what we call "consumer perspective" recognising that the lived experience of "mental illness" provides a crucial source of insight that is of value and must be respected. We believe that we are part of an important cultural shift, towards valuing and respecting the lived experience of "mental illness."

Those of us diagnosed with "mental illness" have a unique perspective to offer. Our lived experiences are rich and varied: some of us experience madness, psyche-ache, emotional distress, hearing voices, mental breakdown or "mental illness" and we don't all make meaning from our experiences in the same way.

Many of us have experienced prejudice, exclusion and trauma. Many have used or survived mental health services, others haven't. Many of us have hidden our experiences, some of us share our experiences in various ways.

We all share the ability to reflect on our lives, our communities and the 'mental health system' from the perspective of having been through these experiences. Our Consumer Place is a resource for our voices to come together and become stronger.

We are based in West Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). We are funded by the Department of Health (Government of Victoria) and auspiced by Our Community. We are unique in Australia, but there are many similar services in Europe and the United States."

http://www.ourconsumerplace.com.au/consumer/index